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Paul McKenzie Tools for 21st Centuy Literacy

No single application out there more completely encourages the development of ISTE Profiles of the 21st C learner than Scratch. It is both broad and deep as well as being very flexible. From grade 3 students creating multi-player games and short animations to grade 12's producing interactive stories, games and educational activities to give others a better understanding of the true values of Arab culture and religion. Student engagement is fantastic, and key to true intrinsic motivation, student… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on September 28, 2008 at 1:25pm — No Comments

Paul McKenzie Who's Going to Start the American Revolution?

Whenever I talk to American educators, I find myself nodding and shaking my head in condolence of their common plight. I am also forever reading commentaries that carry the familiar theme of how the American education system is no longer in the hands of educators, but gifted in a series of grand experiments to politicians, economists, business leaders, religious organizations, advocacy groups... who all think they know best, or are at least prepared to do some tinkering. They act almost like a f… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on May 3, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

Paul McKenzie Web2.0 in School2.0

I just posted this entry into the MyLearningSpace.org Ning group in response to a query about which Web2.0 tools are useful in schools. I can't praise Diigo too much. The amazing functionality and connectivity makes it my favorite productivity and learning Firefox add-on. I guess Firefox itself would be the most useful tool. Try out Diigo, but give yourself a chance to discover all its abilities. Oh, and don't forget to join the EdTechTalk group. As much as I love Del.icio.us, I really think Di… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on April 17, 2008 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Paul McKenzie IB - Finally! Jing Screencasting & MMPORG PBL

I've been incredibly busy over the last several months - Kuwait to Canada and back, followed by 2 weeks in Southern India, curriculum scope and sequence plus accreditation committees, rugby coaching... all competing with my regular teacher and coordinator duties. On top of all this, my wife and I decided to hit the recruiting trail and aim for an International Baccalaureate school. Simply put, schools accredited by the IB Organization deliver globally empathic programs that evolve in concert wi… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on March 7, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

Paul McKenzie $99 Smartboards!!

Yesterday, I hadn't even heard of Johnny Lee, now I'm one of his growing number of fans. Johnny has a website with some great ideas for educators.

What caught my attention was this $99 Smartboard video. I had been thinking that a tablet bluetoothed to a data projector was the only viable poor-man's (educator's) solution to a smartboard. Being a New Zealander of Scottish descent (shor… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on December 20, 2007 at 10:41am — No Comments

Paul McKenzie I dig Diigo

In reply to an email I received today (see end of this post) from Diigo (one of my favorite webapps for education), I wrote the following. If you are in, or interested in, the edtech game, I recommend you try it out.

(Reply)

Hi Maggie,

I'd be more than interested in trying out version 3 of Diigo on Firefox.

I'm an ICT Coordinator at an International School in Kuwait where I have been using Diigo with my grade 11 and 12 students. The students recognize Diigo's… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on December 17, 2007 at 11:27am — No Comments

Paul McKenzie ISTE NETS 2007 for Students

In November while stumbling around in Second Life, I quite literally (or is that virtually literally?) bumped into a display that was asking for feedback on ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards 2007 edition. My wife and I had attended the unveiling of these new standards at the Atlanta NECC and brought them back with us to Kuwait for the new academic year. As I had just completed a quarterly report on the exact topic, I was able to hammer out this response.… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on December 15, 2007 at 1:15pm — No Comments

Paul McKenzie Two Thumbs Up for Instant Gratification & Self-indulgence - Power Tools

oDave Warlick fielded this question a while back on his Two Cents Worth blog.


…I get the idea of meeting our kids on their level and finding ways to reach them that are meaningful. But does this just create more of a culture of instant gratification and self-indulgence? I really feel like my kids just expect everything to be handed to them. How can I challenge them and validate their context… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on October 15, 2007 at 10:30am — No Comments

Paul McKenzie Response to a Dave Warlick post: A New Survey Question — Scientific Research

Dave wrote, "Several days ago, the U.S. Department of Education published to Congress, the results of a recent study on the effects of computer software on reading and math test scores. The report said…"

- Report to Congress

… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on June 1, 2007 at 4:01pm — No Comments

Paul McKenzie Why would you do a podcast?

I was asked this a while back before I got into my first structured class project with the English Department. We are very fortunate to have a HOD prepared to try new things. He was joking the other day and said he hadn't done any "teaching" since February. However, we both agreed that we had facilitated a lot of learning with other projects too.

Anyway, back to my answer to that question. The reason was so obvious that I couldn't rationalize it fluently on that occassion! This is where… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on May 31, 2007 at 11:47am — No Comments

Paul McKenzie Response to a Dave Warlick Post - regarding tech fearmongering in the press

“According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in five children ages 10 to 17 has received unwanted sexual solicitations online.”

I’d be interested to know their definition of “unwanted sexual solicitations”. If it’s what I suspect, I would say one in five is better than what happens in most school yards and malls.

Fact: As many as one in seven boys, and one in four girls will be sexually molested before the age of 18.

Fact: About 80% of the perpetrators are known by t

… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on May 26, 2007 at 11:02pm — No Comments

Paul McKenzie Response to NextGen Teachers Post - "What are you up to?"

In responding to a post asking if NextGen teachers are busy trying to move things forward, I wrote the following. Once again I see that I need to work on my brevity skills...


You're bang on about NextGen Teachers being a busy lot. The small group at my school is so busy, they can't even find time to join this Ning or actually start their own Ning profiles (and this includes "the one who must be obeyed" -my wife, Jennie - not the superintendent).

The way I see it, NextGe… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on May 26, 2007 at 10:48pm — No Comments

Paul McKenzie How will Technology Shape Learning?

We really have no idea and it’s probably too difficult for our 20th Century brains to handle. With this in mind, we have to ensure 21st Century students are being prepared for a dynamic future. Successful learners will need to thrive in a climate of change unlike anything most of us can envision. Therein lies the problem; there is no vision. Current education models are built on content acquisition and the ability to retain and re-present said content. In a nutshell this is… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on March 30, 2007 at 2:24pm — No Comments

Paul McKenzie OK, so this is where School2.0 support is happeNing.

Hello World - oops, wrong site. I'm Paul McKenzie and I have a few stories to share about School2.0 and the front line.

Over the last six months, Jennie and I have been in a Web2.0/School2.0 trance. Our journey so far has roughly taken the following course. I'll link the important ones.

Youtube, Blogger beta,

… Continue

Added by Paul McKenzie on March 29, 2007 at 8:00am — No Comments

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